Recycling divider

ABSTRACT

A recycling bin divider that uses shape to indicate to the user that several types of recycling material that were previously required to be separated are now collected in one stream of refuse. Combining two standard geometric figures in a Boolean union produces a novel hole shape that indicates that both paper and drinking beverage containers are accepted in the associated area of the bin.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to waste receptacles. More specifically, it relates to an improved article of manufacture that helps to separate recyclable from non-recyclable refuse.

In an effort to encourage recycling, recycling bins have matured in recent years to make their use easier to understand. This evolution includes the use of words, colors, signs, and shapes in order to indicate to the user of the waste bin what type of waste is accepted in each particular partition or in that bin in general. With shape, slots in the shape of ovals or rectangles that are long and narrow are often used to indicate that that particular site accepts waste paper; likewise, slots that are usually circular in shape are use to indicate that that particular site accepts common beverage cans and bottles. This innovation has achieved some amount of success and helps make the process of recycling easier for the user by making it almost thoughtless.

Previously, recyclables needed to be subdivided into categories and paper, glass, and aluminum and plastic were collected in different sites. The major shift in the recycling industry however is the consolidation of waste streams. Presently, in places such as San Francisco, these streams are known as the “Fantastic Three”—one stream for organic matter, one for non-recyclable waste, and the third stream is for recyclable waste. This program has achieved success and it appears that the nation at large will gradually but surely be adapting to this trend. For the common household, this implies that the most common types of recyclable waste—paper and beverage containers—will now be collected together.

What is needed is the evolution of the use of shape to indicate type of waste accepted; shape must now be used to indicate that recyclables are now collected in unison.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the division of recyclable waste from non-recyclable waste. A divider is constructed of virtually any building material and said divider contains a hole in the shape of the Boolean union of two standard geometric figures, the first of which having an axis at least long enough to accommodate the width of a standard piece of paper (8.5″) and the second of which having all axes at least as long as the width of standard aluminum beverage can (approximately 3.5″). In a first preferred embodiment, the first standard geometric figure is an oval and the second standard geometric figure is a circle. In another preferred embodiment, the first standard geometric figure is an oval and the second standard geometric figure is also an oval. In another preferred embodiment, the first standard geometric figure is a rectangle and the second standard geometric figure is a circle. In another preferred embodiment, the first standard geometric figure is a rectangle and the second standard geometric figure is an oval. In another preferred embodiment, the first standard geometric figure is a rounded rectangle and the second standard geometric figure is a circle. In another preferred embodiment, the first standard geometric figure is a rounded rectangle and the second standard geometric figure is an oval.

One advantage of a divider constructed in this manner is that the user of the receptacle bin is almost unconsciously informed that there are now only two types of waste—recyclable and non-recyclable—rather than the various different types when paper, glass, and plastic were all collected individually and separate from organic matter and non-recyclable waste.

Another advantage of this divider is that the consolidated recycling sites allow bins to be smaller, making bins that separate the different types of waste more feasible for areas of the home like the study and the bedroom.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is an oblique view of a waste bin that accepts both recyclable and non-recyclable refuse with a first preferred embodiment of the invention situated on the left side of the bin.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to the drawing for the purpose of illustrating a first preferred embodiment of the invention only and not of limiting the invention, FIG. 1 contains the divider 1 adjacent to an open portion of a waste bin 2. The open portion of the bin 2 is not a part of the invention itself but serves to highlight its functionality; a holder of refuse has the option to become a user of the recycling divider 1 and insert the waste into the portion of the bin meant for recyclable * materials or a holder of refuse could decide to insert the waste into the generic trash pile 2 if he or she chooses not to set aside the waste for recycling. The intent of FIG. 1 is to suggest the most natural means of employing the invention—side by side with a non-recyclable waste bin.

The divider 1 itself is composed of a hole that is the Boolean union of two standard geometric figures. In a first preferred embodiment, the first of these two standard geometric figures is an elongated oval with at least one axis as long as the width of a standard piece of paper (8.5″) 3 and the second of these two standard geometric figures is a circle at least wide enough to encompass the standard aluminum beverage can (about 3.5″) 4. In another preferred embodiment, the first standard geometric figure is an oval and the second standard geometric figure is also an oval. In another preferred embodiment, the first standard geometric figure is a rectangle and the second standard geometric figure is a circle. In another preferred embodiment, the first standard geometric figure is a rectangle and the second standard geometric figure is an oval. In another preferred embodiment, the first standard geometric figure is a rounded rectangle and the second standard geometric figure is a circle. In another preferred embodiment, the first standard geometric figure is a rounded rectangle and the second standard geometric figure is an oval. In the listed preferred embodiments, the second standard geometric figure (the figure that is at least wide enough to encompass a standard aluminum beverage can) would be most effective if it was unified adjacent to either of the longer portions of the first standard geometric figure, as shown in FIG. 1.

The trend in the recycling industry towards consolidated recycling streams makes this invention certainly novel because there simply is no such divider seen in the prior art. The divider is also useful because it quickly communicates to the user of the bin what type of waste is accepted in the recycling bin without the use of words or pictures, and the invention is also useful because it saves space by combining the two standard geometric figures, thereby making it more plausible to have such a recycling divider included in smaller bins that might then be placed in such areas as the study. The question of non-obviousness is perhaps somewhat more difficult to address because the prior art contains recycling bin dividers that already use all of the aforementioned shapes to indicate the type of waste accepted. However, only after user testing was employed was it proven that when the two geometric figures are unified in a Boolean operation and each figure loses its distinct shape that the user maintains the ability to identify the type of waste the divider accepts. The combination of the shapes is therefore non-obvious because the novelty of the invention implies that nobody involved in the art prior to the invention had been able to understand if and how a combination would produce the desired results. This proof is further illustrated by the fact that when the two shapes are unified in a different orientation—for example, when the circle of a first preferred embodiment is unified to the shorter end of the oval (90 degrees from where it is situated in FIG. 1, somewhat resembling an exclamation point)—test users experienced difficulty in understanding the purpose and function of the divider. This alternate unification operation is not meant to limit the scope of the invention but rather to illustrate the non-obviousness of the several listed preferred embodiments and the benefits of their associated orientations. 

1. A divider used to separate recyclable from non-recyclable refuse, comprising a hole that is the Boolean union of two standard geometric figures.
 2. The divider of claim 1 wherein one of the two standard geometric figures is an oval with at least one axis of symmetry as long as the width of a standard piece of paper.
 3. The divider of claim 1 wherein one of the two standard geometric figures is a rectangle with at least one axis of symmetry as long as the width of a standard piece of paper.
 4. The divider of claim 1 wherein one of the two standard geometric figures is a rounded rectangle with at least one axis of symmetry as long as the width of a standard piece of paper.
 5. The divider of claim 1 wherein one of the two standard geometric figures is a circle with a diameter at least wide enough to encompass a standard aluminum beverage can.
 6. The divider of claim 1 wherein one of the two standard geometric figures is an oval that is wide enough to encompass a standard aluminum beverage can.
 7. The divider of claim 1 wherein the two standard geometric figures are any combination of a first standard geometric figure, being an oval, rectangle, or rounded rectangle, and a second standard geometric figure, being a circle or oval. 